Praying all day I can stay razor-sharp and accomplish as much as I can for our clients.

I am not commuting or working alone.

You have not to do it in your unaided strength: it is God who is all the while supplying the impulse, giving you the power to resolve, the strength to perform, the execution of His good pleasure. Philippians 2:13

In a nut shell my work encompasses being a tenacious problem-solver for each person I meet throughout my day and doing it with excellence.

In line at the grocery store a young mom started setting items aside she could not pay for–

bananas, apples, and other veggies. I handed the money to the cashier and she, with her many lovely long braids, and her sweet children were on their way.

I’ll never see this family again, but I assured her it was from God and He loves her.

Standing in line at the gas station one of our coaches from the high school was checking out. It was less than $10.00 but it gave me the opportunity to thank him for all he does for the young people in our community and a simple God Bless you.

You are reading this and thinking I don’t have any extra.

Save a quarter a week till you have a dollar and give it away and bless another.

Perhaps one of my biggest adjustments to having an empty nest is the grocery store, mine is HEB. Feeling blue grocery shopping alone one Saturday, two teen girls stood in front of me at the checkout counter with a giant bottle of chocolate syrup. The only thing I said as I slipped several dollars to the cashier on their behalf was “God Bless you” to the two smiling young faces. It ended up being on sale and just one dollar, but it was my small way of demonstrating God’s love toward others, and God lifted my spirits as I gave just a little away, my unexpected blessing from Him.

A young mom from our neighborhood texted me to see if she could pick up some food for her three small children from our churches pantry. I could not get there, but the owner of the preschool was there to help, and helped her carry the groceries to her car where she quietly handed the young mom an envelope with extra cash. That mom called me later to say how she could not believe how God had met her need so quickly. Sometimes our random acts of kindness are really divine appointments– God’s way of letting others know they are loved and not forgotten.

I arrived at her home having received her distressed call. We really don’t have much in common except that we both worked as shop girls at some point in our lives and have great stories we share about our customers. Despite our differences we get along.

Gwen and I sat on her crisp, white slip covered sofa, , her pearl-colored cat slipping in right beside me. The air was filled with tension, and the fragrance the sweet smell of roses.

Her angular, modern home on Chicago’s North Shore was, as always, pristine. Like her home, Gwen, with her chiseled coal-black bob haircut and perfect makeup, was as equally and impeccably appointed in her dress and in her speech. The new gun-metal gray BMW she rarely drove sat quietly in the garage atop the white, oil free enameled floor. Her car was the same combination of outward beauty that hides the power below the surface. Snow fell outside, breathtaking from her large glass windows.

Chad had gone ballistic on her in the middle of a large home building supply store earlier in the day. He had previously degraded her privately, using words and calling her names that ought not be repeated, but she had previously overlooked them, quietly giving permission to use them again. For her, today was different as his profane put downs had an audience of store associates and contractors picking up supplies.

He always apologized and she always forgave him after the red long-stemmed roses would arrive. And he always returned to the same behavior after a brief period of being on his best behavior.

I asked her to read aloud from the Bible. This was a new thing for her, and God;s Words seemed like a foreign language to her.

“For this reason also, since the day we heard this, we haven’t stopped praying for you. We are asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, so that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, bearing fruit in every good work and growing in the knowledge of God.
May you be strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for all endurance and patience, with joy giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the saints inheritance in the light.
He has rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son He loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

She looked at me with tears in her eyes “I’m not worthy of a real relationship with God till I let go of Chad”
“I’m just not good enough”
“I love him, I can’t give him up”
We repeated the pattern of meeting, praying and seeing what God’s Word had to say to her.
She stepped out in faith.
She learned that Jesus will take us right where we are at.

She was imprisoned in her beautiful home, believing she was in a life she could not escape, chained to a man who was not her husband, but on this day the power of God’s Word healed her.

Long holiday conversations give opportunity to affirm others for all the traits you love and respect about them.

Some take the dance of a verbal self-indulgence.

A well placed put down lifts their ego.

But at whose expense?

“Those people are on a dark spiral downward. But if you think that leaves you on high ground where you can point your fingers at others, think again. Every time you criticize someone, you condemn yourself. ” (Romans 2:1, The Message)

The rain was heavy in Texas and everyone pitched in to shovel stinky fly covered manure.

Who knew mucking stalls could be such a cathartic experience. It was perfect timing after being on the receiving end of a hateful verbal assault.

The words stung and smelled and brought a bitter taste to my mouth as I breathed in the fumes of vitriol thoughts of another.

The pungent odor assaulted my nose and eyes as the scene flashed before my mind.

What happened to bring this upon myself?

Verbal offenses usually bounce off me, but this one stung.

The delivery was akin to vomit all over me.

In other words poor delivery, but yes I got the message.

How can I remove this branding from my brain?

What actually works to remove filth from your mind?

Unwholesome images and words the Lord does not want you to own.

Walking out the door before heading off to the barn, a dear friend

Linda Z. called and prayed over the phone with me.

I could hear the whipping pages of her bible as she spoke these words over me to our Lord Jesus Christ.

“Silence the ugliness…God your blood has set us apart. This is an opportunity. I surrender. Vengeance is yours. May truth knock them over. The words will not hinder nor rob Trish anymore. She is the daughter of a King and you dance over her. (Referencing Zephaniah 3:17) Trish has things to do for the Lord and she will not carry this with her. This is not for her she is in service to the King (Galatians 5) this thing before her is a horror movie and she will set no vile thing before her eyes. ”

Thank you Jesus.

We worked hard for about three hours filling wheelbarrows and tossing the contents over a cliff.